Victims from Pahokee plane crash were attorneys in the same firm

 Victims from Pahokee plane crash were attorneys in the same firm

Palm Beach County, Fl-  Two  Stuart attorneys were among the five people who died aboard a plane that crashed Friday near Lake Okeechobee. This is according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

They were identified Saturday.

The pilot was Eduardo Mulet, 45, of West Palm Beach.

Edwin “Ted” Mortell III was a managing shareholder for Peterson Bernard’s Stuart branch, according to the firm’s web site. The 54-year-old lawyer was also the past president of the Martin County Bar Association. He was a member of the Board of Directors at the Pine School in Martin County.

Heather Bridwell, 43, of Jupiter. She was also a shareholder for the firm’s Stuart office and specialized in insurance defense.

The other three people aboard the plane were Eduardo Mulet, 45, of West Palm Beach, Eric Peterson, 73, of Lighthouse Point and Matthew Fiorello, 36, of Palm Beach Gardens. Fiorello and Peterson were also attorneys at Peterson Bernard and served at the firm’s offices in West Palm Beach.

The plane had taken off from Tampa International Airport. Officials say the twin-engine Piper aircraft went down about 400 yards from the lake’s southeast shore, just north of the Pahokee Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.